


Reasons Why (Space) Exists

by flubella



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Slow burn Klance, broganes, keith is the black paladin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 07:03:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10871565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flubella/pseuds/flubella
Summary: Set after the events of season 2 in which Keith is now the black paladin, the rest of the team tries their best to cope and Lance tells the story. However, some things are just not meant to be forgotten.-After a few battles with rogue Galras, the team was working better, forming Voltron was easier. It was almost easy to forget.It could have been easy to forget.





	Reasons Why (Space) Exists

The last time Lance had seen Shiro, it had been in the battle with Zarkon. Their leader's face had flickered onto the screen for a few moments before filtering out completely. He remembers the panic in his team members at the loss of connection, the way he could feel Keith's pained anguish when the Black Lion responded with only static when the paladins asked for a reply. For a moment, there was only the rush of their lions, in a hurry to return to the Castle. He could feel the heavy thrumming of his heartbeat against his chest as he ran towards the Black Lion. The discovery of the empty chair. The silence.

The horror he saw on his teammates faces. Allura, usually perfect in her beauty had distraught struck across her features. Pidge had tears running down her face as her hand gripped the edge of the pilot chair. Next to him, he remembers the way Keith had crumbled to his knees. The silence was then broken with the sound of crying, a battle won but a friend lost.

Ultimately, Hunk had been the one to help them out of their grief. First, he snapped Lance out of his shock to assist him in bringing Pidge back to her bedroom. The yellow paladin's arms were shaky as he slowly guided Allura out of the lion as well. Keith stayed behind despite their insistence, his mind lost to the disappearance of his best friend. Hunk simply nodded with a look of understanding and from there, the paladins and the Princess departed from the spoils of war.

-

With the loss of their leader, they had to find another one. Naturally, at the insistence of the Black Lion, Keith stepped up and took on the position as the Head of Voltron. With the promotion in place, Lance automatically moved up to take over the Red Lion and Allura temporarily handled the Blue Lion. At first, it had been unsteady, with them having to adjust to a new leader as well as new lions to connect with. Red, he discovered, was much more easily agitated than Blue and he could feel her adrenaline and readyness to fight whenever they were involved in battle. It hadn't been easy due to their obvious setback, but they were paladins and they had jobs to do and eventually, they did it.

After a few battles with rogue Galras, the team was working better, forming Voltron was easier. It was almost easy to forget.

It could have been easy to forget.

Yet, despite their achievements, he could still see the sadness in his teammates faces. Smiles were smaller. It was a permanent reminder of the gravity of their situation, that no big win came without a heavy price.

And Keith, their new leader, knew this statement the best out of them all.

-

"To your left!"

Lance watches as the Green Lion swoops down to attack a Galra cruiser that was approaching the planet. The mission had gone from zero to a thousand pretty quick, with the sudden appearance of Galras at the planet they at. He could hear Red jolting under his control, telling him to _watch out for Keith watch out for Black_. The Black Lion had stayed on land, where some of the Galra had managed to land on the planet. Over the comms, Lance could hear Keith grunting as he fought with them to protect the aliens that were in danger.

"I got it- i got it-" he mutters back to Red as she tells him to direct a shot towards another cruiser approaching the planet. Despite their switch in positions, Red still mantained her protectiveness over her previous paladin.

"All clear!" He hears Hunk speak over the comms, "How's everyone?

"Better. Hurry paladins, once we have cleared the space of Galra threat, we need to go help Keith."

"Yes Princess,"

Lance rears back his Lion towards the direction of the planet as the others follow suit. On the ground, he could see the occasional flash of red as Keith made his way through the Galra armies. Red was purring as she caught sight of him and he could feel her relief as they landed back on the planet. Keith was quick to greet them sporting no visible injuries

"They're everywhere," he's panting as the team surrounds him, "Keep them away from the village."

Pidge nods. Lance draws his bayard as the team rushes into battle. He stands back to back against Hunk, covering the rest of the team who are engaged with close combat. Allura takes out drones with her spear, the occasional spark of magic coming from her gloved hands when the drones get too close. Pidge weaves through the armies, her small stature making it easy for her to take them down quickly without them being noticed. For those that do though, Lance shoots them down without pausing to take a breath.

Eventually, as it does, team Voltron wins. The remaining armies, realising their loss, choose to clamber back into their ships and disappear quickly from the atmosphere. There is relief, another battle won-

"Where's Keith?"

Pidge's voice pulls his attention away from the ships. Looking around, he recognises the panic etched on his teammates faces. He could feel the terror creeping up again, the familiar feeling of the loss of another leader.

"You, you didn't see him?" Hunk's hands are shaking.

"No," she replies and Lance feels the weight of the silence once again.

Then, static in the communication system.

The Red Lion's eyes flash.

Keith stumbles out of nowhere, his hand gripping the side of his arm. There is an immediate clamour as they all rush to greet him. When Allura demands to know his whereabouts, Keith's expression turns cold.

He turns to the team, the anger in his eyes reminding the rest why he was initially chosen as the Red Paladin. Under the suspense, Lance finds himself holding his breath.

"Shiro-" the old leader's name dropping a heavy weight on the rest of them, "I know where he is."

**Author's Note:**

> Just a side note, Keith, Lance and Allura are still in their previous paladin armors. I did this because when Shiro disappeared, I assumed so did his black paladin suit.
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are highly appreciated :)
> 
> more chapters to come !


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